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PHOENIX -- The Suns beat the Hawks in an uncharacteristically low-scoring contest on Friday, but the 88-80 score wasn't really the story. It was the bench play for both teams that decided this one, and while the second unit for Phoenix was dominant, the reserves on the Atlanta side -- save for Jamal Crawford -- were simply nonexistent.After getting a solid performance in the first half from Joe Smith, who managed seven points and four offensive rebounds in just six minutes of play, Hawks coach Mike Woodson opted to keep him on the bench the entire second half.
In fact, after getting a whole lot of nothing out of the rest of his second stringers who he gave a brief opportunity to in the first half, he didn't play any of them the rest of the way -- again, except for Crawford, who had all 11 of his points in the final two periods.
It's not like Woodson has a lot of great options beyond Crawford; Joe Smith probably can't give him more than 12 minutes per night at a high level, Zaza Pachulia is only giving him a little better than four points and three rebounds a game, and Maurice Evans is ... well, Maurice Evans. But in a game where Jared Dudley and Goran Dragic logged almost as many minutes off the bench as Amar'e Stoudemire and Steve Nash did with the first unit, it was clear that the Hawks' top six players could have used some time to rest if nothing else.
After finishing the first half on a 10-0 run to take the lead, Atlanta's offense stagnated in the second. Guys were standing around and mostly attempting to create their own shots, and the team managed just three assists over the game's final 24 minutes, while limping to the finish line with only 30 second-half points.
(Click here to take a look at the second-half-only box score.)
Phoenix wasn't much better offensively, but their defensive rotations and aggressive rebounding were plenty to keep Atlanta at bay. The Suns outrebounded the Hawks by 10 in the second half, which, not at all coincidentally, is the same number that their reserves hauled down in the final two periods.
As you might imagine, Woodson wasn't pleased with the way things turned out. And when asked about not going to his bench at all in the second half, he seemed to promise (perhaps to himself) that he'll do things differently in the future.
"I learned a little something tonight," Woodson said. "Because that won't ever happen again."
Audio of Woodson's entire post-game media session can be heard below.
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